- Recently enacted National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2019 prohibits the U.S. Department of Defense from acquiring rare earth magnets from China
- TMRC’s Round Top project potentially supplies all of the U.S. Department of Defense rare earth magnet needs
SIERRA BLANCA, TX, Aug. 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Texas Mineral Resources Corp. (OTCQB: TMRC), an exploration company targeting high value tech metals including rare earths and a variety of other high-value elements and industrial minerals, is pleased to announce that our Round Top deposit, located eighty-five miles southeast of El Paso, Texas, contains all of the rare earth minerals necessary for the production of rare earth magnets as defined by the recently signed FY19 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Section 871 of the NDAA, signed into law on August 13th, specifically requires that all rare earth magnets and tungsten be melted or produced in nations other than China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
At full production, the Round Top project would potentially produce annual quantities of the following four rare earth minerals necessary in the production of rare earth magnets:
· Neodymium: 230 metric tons per year
· Praseodymium: 87 metric tons per year
· Dysprosium: 208 metric tons per year
· Terbium: 26 metric tons per year
“With China as the world’s largest rare earths producer and U.S. production currently at zero, the defense bill underscores the importance of developing a stable source of domestic rare earth supply,” said Anthony Marchese, TMRC Chairman. “Rare earth minerals are used in every major U.S. advanced weapons platform, from guidance and control systems and electronic warfare to targeting systems, electric motors and communications, command and control.”
Based on a Congressional Research Service report issued in 2011 titled “Rare Earth Elements in National Defense: Background, Oversight Issues, and Options for Congress” and authored by Valerie Bailey Grasso, it is estimated that Round Top could potentially supply virtually all of the rare earth magnet raw material needs for Department of Defense contractors.
Round Top is a National Instrument (NI) 43-101 compliant, one billion tonne mass of uniquely mineralized rhyolite with an estimated mine life of over 100 years, whose metals could potentially be extracted by low cost heap leaching. Its location near El Paso on state property and existing infrastructure may allow this deposit to be brought into production relatively quickly.
About Texas Mineral Resources Corp.
Texas Mineral Resources Corp.'s primary focus is exploring and, if warranted, developing its Round Top rare earth and industrial minerals project located in Hudspeth County, Texas, 85 miles east of El Paso. The Company’s common stock trades on the OTCQB U.S. tier under the symbol “TMRC.”
Company Contact:
Texas Mineral Resources Corp.
Anthony Marchese, Chairman
E-mail: amarchese@tmrcorp.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including, but not limited to, statements recovery rates of “critical materials” from the Round Top leach solution being indicative of production potential, potential development and production of “critical materials” at Round Top, potential production rates and mining costs, potential revenue streams from such production, anticipated production methods and results, anticipated mine life at Round Top, potential production of “critical material” de-risking project economics, Round Top being a stable, long-term supply of “critical materials”, projected increased demand in the “critical materials” market and other similar statements. When used in this press release, the words "potential," "indicate," "expect," "intend," "hopes," "believe," "may," "will," "if, "anticipate," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such factors include, among others, risks related to the development of the Round Top project, up-scaling of extraction testing, risks related to changes in future operating costs and working capital balance, risks related to mining results not matching preliminary tests and risks related to the ability of TMRC to raise adequate working capital and continue as a going concern, as well as those factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's latest annual report on Form 10-K, as filed on November 30, 2017, and other documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements.